Megan Bostic's Blog, page 27

Ousted

They posted the results of the pitch round for the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award Contest today. I did not make it. This is the first time of the five times I've entered that I've not made this first round. Am I shocked? I have to admit, a little. I've used pretty much the same pitch the last four times. It was bound to eventually fail me.

Maybe I was a bit over confident.

This round of course tells nothing of what kind of writer I am. It only tells that my pitch was worse than 400 other YA entrants. Oh well. Moving forward. Here are my plans:

Wait for editor to finish reading An Unbalanced Line. If she rejects, that is the novel I'm planning to self pub. If she wants it, revise Lockdown and self pub.Revise Dissection and send back to agent that wants to read it. If she doesn't want it, self pub.Continue working on other books, Rumpelstiltskin retelling, post apocalyptic YA and other things I've started. I need to buckle down and get some of these written.Continue with side projects.No matter what book it be, I am going to self pub this year. I cannot fathom the idea of not having a book out for another two to three years.

I congratulate and wish all the contestants still in ABNA the best of luck.

Monkey Madness Tuesday: Dear, Spammer

You get the monkeys today because I didn't feel like blogging yesterday, I felt like I had nothing to say. Today I do. I'm feeling some angst. So here I am. 

First of all, to the spammers who keep commenting here on my blog anonymously, go away. Get a life. Don't come back. No one is going to read your comment and follow your link. Are you stupid or something?

Secondly, I'm frustrated about my writing career. I have no idea which direction to go. I have about five projects going. I can't seem to focus. Meanwhile, I've got things tied up with editor and contest. I feel like a chicken with my head cut off.

Thirdly, I have another frustrating ongoing thing I can't really talk about but I'm so tired of dealing with I want to rip my hair out and I really don't understand it, it seems so stupid.

I have to say this. Thank god for kickboxing and xanax.

Image courtesy of samurai/ FreeDigitalPhotos.net

F³A: I wish I'd written that

Man, I have run across some amazing books, TV shows, and movies, that have resonated with me and make me say, I wish I'd written that or I wish I could write like that.

The most recent is the series Lost. I just finished watching it on Netflix and I was blown away. J.J. Abrams of course is a genius, but to be able to film a first episode and the final scene, then keep the show going in the right direction for all six years, is fucking amazing. Plus, the storyline, the characters, everything about that show just rocked my world.

I don't know how many times I cried during the last few episodes. Too many to count.

Is there a book, tv show, or movie you wish you'd written? If so, what?

Okay, here's the Friday Scribbles:

Next Pandora Song: So Long by Ingrid Michaelson (Fun Channel)


Book of the Week: Considering I've not read anything lately, um..I guess I don't have one? Oh wait, I'll go with my friend Gae Polisner's The Pull of Gravity, which just came out in paperback this week. Go buy it.

Netflix of the Week: Duh, Lost Season Six. Did you know there was a 12 minute epilogue video too? You can find it here.

Quote of the Week: There were a lot of good ones from the show Lost, but this is my favorite, and I find myself saying it, just like Desmond, quite often. "See you in another life, Brotha." ~ Desmond Hume to Jack Shepard.

Happy Friday all. Have a good weekend!

Dreams to Fiction

Do you ever have dreams that you've turned into fiction? There have been nights I've had dreams, thought, wow, that would make a good book or written part of it down, only to wake up the next morning and say to myself, WTF was I thinking?

Last night was different. I pulled a Stephenie Meyer. Last night I slept like shit. Had nightmares all night that had me screaming myself awake. Dreams so real I could feel them.

But then I had another dream. A very vivid dream based on racial tension, taboo relationships, and injustice.

It was so good, I even wrote down the dream in my dream?!?! Seriously. When I woke up I was like, damn! I didn't really write that down. And I quickly grabbed a pen and notebook because the idea was already fleeting.

I think I got it all down. This idea is so good, I'm considering putting everything else aside to start it.

You ever have fictional revelations like that? When do you usually get them?

When did I get this old?

I'm a bad ass. I know this. I'm a rock star and a super mom. Yes, this is obvious.

But I'm getting old.

I've been going to kickboxing. Yes, I'm that awesome.I'm even Uber Awesome as my trainer told me last night because I stayed for two classes. That's right, two hours of nonstop kickboxing and strength training.

Today I can't feel my right arm. Okay, that's a lie. I can feel it and it hurts. I can barely move it. Everything from my shoulder to my elbow.

This sucks.

My mortality is catching up to me. I can already see that light at the end of the tunnel. Or the flame, you know, whichever.

My youngest daughter just turned 15. I will be mid-fortyish this year. WTF happened?

When did time become so fleeting?

When did my body start breaking down and how come nobody has come up with a cure for that yet?

I need a body mechanic.

Do you know where I can find one?

Monkey Madness Monday: Writing in Scenes

 Do you ever write in scenes? I've only done it once before, of course, I never finished that book.

I find that with this fantasy book I'm writing, I'm going to have to. Because it spans centuries, I'm having a difficult time transitioning from one section to another.

I'd love to know your thoughts on this and how it has worked for you.

Happy Monday ya'll.

RAVENS!!! Yeah baby!

Photo credit: deVos / Foter.com / CC BY-NC-SA

F³A: ABNA contest

So, the contest closed a couple days ago. I've entered my cutter book. I entered it under the title Slice. I've changed the name about a million times. Maybe I should just let my readers name by book. Ugh.

I was reminiscing about the contest. This will be my fifth time entering. I've entered a different book every time. First year made it to top 100. Since then, I've made it through the pitch phase and no further. 

The last time I entered I got a HORRIBLE review. And I don't mean a constructive review, but just a mean spirited review. I laugh about it now because, hey, I'm a published writer, but at the time I was really pissed at first. 

Here are some of my favorite excerpts from that review:


Before I post this one, I will say the reviewer thought I was a teenager, which I took as a compliment (though it wasn't supposed to be) as it meant the voice of my character was right on. lol.

"Unfortunately, you have failed to pay attention in the one class required to be able to write well - English." 


"It's a shame that you didn't write anything that hasn't been written hundreds of times already this year."




Before that year I have never seen any books about a 17 year-old girl who wants to play high school football.



"If this was a school paper, I'd have to give it an "F".

He's talking about my grammar, word usage, and sentence structure and "much, much more".  I honestly don't know what he meant. I know he didn't like some of it because I'm not sure he realized my character was southern, IDK.

"It is way to easy today for people to get published," O.o really? "and I sincerely hope that you do not see that as an option. Frankly, this is no where good enough to be called a "book" and you to be called an "author". Pretty harsh thing to tell someone you think is a teenager.


"To not have learned the basics of writing and yet expect people to read what you have written shows no respect at all for your readers."

lol. I just have no idea what to say about that one. I'll add that the other three years I entered the contest, they all commented on what a talented writer I was, I mostly got ousted for violence (content). But I took those reviews gracefully, because they were constructive.

I'm honestly not bitter about this review at all. Like I said, at first I was pissed, and yeah if I would have won the contest, I would have received a publishing contract, but I had 1/5,000 chance. Reviewing is subjective, it's really a crap shoot.

[image error] That said, I do think the contest is a great opportunity for unpublished and mid-list authors and that most of the reviewers are very good at what they do. I was just thinking back on the years I'd entered before, remembering all the people I connected with, many of them good friends. It was great fun on the contest forum to chat and share with other writers. 

If you've not entered before, it's too late this year, but you should consider it in the future.

 

Feeling sorry for myself

I don't really want to go into detail, but today I find myself feeling sorry for myself to the point of anxiety.

Yes, it has to do with the publishing biz.

This business is aggravating and frustrating. Sometimes I'm not sure I'm cut out for it. I mean, I'm strong. I've grown a thick skin, bad reviews don't bother me. There are certain aspects though that make me feel very alone in this business. Alone, neglected abandoned.

I'm know, I'm whining. If you're new to the biz, just got a book deal, be prepared. Yes, it's exciting and a giant accomplishment, but keep in mind, there are thousands of books being published every year. You are a very small fish in a sea of sharks. Go in ready to battle for yourself, your rights, your future.

Okay, I'm done bitching. Sorry for the rant, but sometimes it just needs to be done.

What's your favorite genre?

When I read, nowadays I read YA. I have books upon books on my to be list. I have enjoyed suspense, mysteries, and thrillers a lot though too. Some of my favorite authors from those categories are Dennis Lehane, Harlen Coben, and Michael Chrichton. Stephen King is probably my favorite author of all time though. He's really the only horror author I've read, aside from a couple Dean Koontz books. To be honest, though, I think the last book of his I read was The Green Mile.

If we're talking writing, YA obviously. Mostly I've written contemporary, but I'm now trying my hand at fantasy and sci-fi. I've got a couple adult projects on the back burner as well, and a couple more ideas for those as well.

That's mainly my problem is too many ideas and not enough time.

So tell me, what is your favorite genre to read? To write?

Introducing...ME!

So today is . A bunch of us bloggers are re-introducing ourselves, then checking out the other bloggers on the list that are participating. To find out more, click here.

So, this is me. I'm Megan Bostic. I am Creative Chaos. Why? Because my writing style, as well as my life is in a constant state of chaos. That's it. I'm a legal marketer during the day writer at night. My first novel, Never Eighteen was published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt just over a year ago.

I'm also a soccer mom, vlogger, blogger (obviously), amateur poet, who likes to mess with graphic design, websites, and other crap.

I mostly write contemporary realistic young adult (YA) literature, though I have a couple adult books in the works, as well as fantasy and sci-fi YA. I do like to write about dark or sad subjects, as I think they are stories that need to be told and I like to write characters that teens (and adults) can relate to.

My two teen daughters, who I often refer to as Thing One and Thing Two, are crazy beautiful, totally inappropriate, disgusting, and hilariously funny.

I'm a fan of the "F" word.

I love monkeys.

I wear black daily.

I love kickboxing.

I'm also a fan of NFL football, soccer, and my children.

I have a boyfriend who's off the charts awesome.

I think I'm going to try my hand at self publishing this year.

Music and life are my inspiration for writing.

I think that's it.

Hoping to see you on your blogs. Please feel free to leave a comment. I love comments and try to respond to them all.

Have a great re-introduction day!